FACTA UNIVERSITATIS Series: Visual Arts and Music Vol. 7, No 1, 2021, pp. 13−21 https://doi.org/10.22190/FUVAM2101013P Original scientific paper THE CHURCH HYMN “CHRIST RECEIVETH SINFUL MEN”: ITS RELATIONSHIP TO THE GERMAN ORIGINAL AND ITS ADAPTATION BY AMERICAN AND KOREAN HYMNALS UDC 783=30 Sa Ra Park Texas State University – School of Music, San Marcos, Texas, USA Abstract. In the 19th century, German Protestant hymns were translated into English and have been sung in its language area. By evangelizing Korea, Western – including some German – church hymns were introduced. However, it is noticeable that content as well as linguistic and musical differences between the German and Korean versions could occur in the translation process. This paper examines one particular church hymn, namely “Christ Receiveth Sinful Men”, that was included in the Korean hymnals at the end of the 19th century. This church hymn has an interesting history; its text is originally from Germany, whereby the origin of the music is the United States. This paper explores the questions of how the text and the music were combined and how changes took place in their transmission. Methodologically, sources were compared that were relevant at the time of adaption. The intercultural relationships between the hymns of other countries would be of interest not only to hymnological scholars, but also to missiologists and musicologists, as well as church musicians. Key words: Jesus nimmt die Sünder an, Christ Receiveth Sinful Men, Erdmann Neumeister, James McGranahan, Evangelisches Gesangbuch of 1993, 21st Century Hymnal of 2006 INTRODUCTION The church hymn “Christ Receiveth Sinful Men” is still sung by American Christians; for example, it is contained in the Baptist Hymnal of 2008. Its music was composed by American musician and composer James McGranahan (1840-1907), and the lyrics were written by a German pastor named Erdmann Neumeister (1671-1756). It is interesting to observe that this combination of text and music is not known by German Christians. In Received November 30, 2020 / Accepted April 9, 2021 Corresponding author: Sa Ra Park Texas State University – School of Music 601 University Dr., San Marcos, Texas 78666, USA E-mail: [email protected] © 2021 by University of Niš, Serbia | Creative Commons Licence: CC BY-NC-ND 14 S. R. PARK the current German hymnal Evangelisches Gesangbuch of 1993, the text of Neumeister Jesus nimmt die Sünder an is set to another melody. Moreover, we can find that there are differences between the lyrics in the German and American versions. Furthermore, it is noteworthy that this hymn is known to Korean Christians since its inclusion in the Korean hymnal at the end of the 19th century. The current Korean hymnal 21st Century Hymnal of 2006 contains it as the American version, but not as the German one. This paper will show how the lyrics of Neumeister are altered by McGranahan, and the aspects that played an important role in the reception of the hymn in the United States and in Korea. This topic has not been explored in scholarly research; this is an original study and it is based on primary sources such as Evangelisches Gesangbuch of 1993, Songs of Eternal Life of [1858], Gospel Hymns Nos. 1 to 6 of 1895, and 21st Century Hymnal of 2006. 1. TEXT The text of Jesus nimmt die Sünder an, which is contained in the Evangelisches Gesangbuch of 1993 under the number 353, was penned by Erdmann Neumeister.1 To be able to sing with the congregation after his sermon, Neumeister, who was the pastor at St. Jakobi in Hamburg, wrote numerous church hymn lyrics that related to the Sunday scripture readings and his sermons (Die Lieder unserer Kirche 1958, 419; Liederkunde 1990, 234; Thust 2015, 166). In 1718, he wrote the text Jesus nimmt die Sünder an, which was based on the Gospel for the third Sunday after Trinity, Luke 15:1–10. This Bible passage is about the parables of the lost sheep and of the lost coin. In the same year, the author had a song collection printed for his congregation: “Evangelical Resonance, That Is: New Spiritual Songs Over the Orderly Gospels of Sundays and Special Days for the Whole Year.”2 This collection contained this particular text. During the 19th century, Neumeisterʼs text was translated into English quite a few times (Dictionary of Hymnology 1985, 797–798). Among the translations, Emma F. Bevansʼ 3 Sinners Jesus will receive was the direct source for the Korean hymn book. Her translation was close to the original. This can primarily be seen in the fact that she translated all stanzas with six lines each (Songs of Eternal Life, [1858], 23–25). In contrast, Neumeisterʼs text was often shortened in English and American hymnals, although these had Bevanʼs translation as a source (Dictionary of Hymnology 1985, 797). 1 Erdmann Neumeister (1671-1756) was born in 1671 at Uichteritz near Weißenfels. After studying in Leipzig, he worked in Bad Bibra and Eckartsberga as a pastor and in Weißenfels as a court chaplain. In 1706, he came to Sorau in the Lower Lusatia, where he worked as a senior court pastor and superintendent. Since 1715, he was a senior pastor at St. Jakobi in Hamburg. He wrote more than 700 church hymn texts that related to the Sunday scripture readings and to his sermons, and he wrote numerous cantata texts for five ecclesiastical years that were set to music by his friend Georg Philipp Telemann and by Johann Sebastian Bach. He advocated for introducing the cantata into the Protestant church service (Evangelisches Gesangbuch 1994, No. 957; Die Lieder unserer Kirche 1958, 419; Thust 2015, 166). 2 “Evangelischer Nachklang, das ist: Neue geistreiche Gesänge über die ordentlichen Sonn- und Festtagsevangelia aufs ganze Jahr” (Liederkunde 1990, 234). 3 Emma Frances Bevan (1827-1909) was born in 1827 in Oxford. Her father Philip Nicholas Shuttleworth was a pastor and Warden at New College, Oxford, and later bishop in Chichester. In 1858, she published the collection Songs of Eternal Life, which contained her English translations of German church hymns. One year later, she edited Songs of Praise for Christian Pilgrims (Mearns 1985, 139). The Church Hymn “Christ Receiveth Sinful Men” 15 By the end of the 19th century, Bevan’s translation was combined with James McGranahansʼ melody,4 therefore the text was arranged corresponding to the melody. This new arrangement first appeared in the men’s choir collection The Gospel Male Choir, vol. 2, which was published in 1883 by McGranahan (Cho 1996, 113; Moon and Na 2012, 444; Oh 2015, 888). He then included this song in his 1894 edited song collection Gospel Hymns Nos. 1 to 6 Completed, under the number 331 (Cho 1995, 259). In the following table, Bevan’s version (Songs of Eternal Life [1858], 23–25) and the arranged text by McGranahan (Gospel Hymns Nos. 1 to 6, 1895, No. 331) are compared in order to show how McGranahan changed the text for his music. Table 1 Comparison of the Version by Bevan and the Arranged Text by McGranahan Stanza Bevans Translation Stanza The Arranged Text by McGranahan 1 Sinners Jesus will receive, 1 Sinners Jesus will receive: Say this word of grace to all, Sound this word of grace to all Who the heavenly pathway leave, Who the heav’nly pathway leave, All who linger, all who fall! All who linger, all who fall. This can bring them back again, [Refrain] Christ receiveth sinful men. Sing it o’er and o’er again: Christ receiveth sinful men; Make the message clear and plain: Christ receiveth sinful men. 2 We deserve no help, no love, Yet His changeless word is given, That His grace shall not remove: No man at the gate of Heaven In His name shall knock in vain Christ receiveth sinful men. 3 Shepherds seek their wandering sheep O’er the mountains bleak and cold, Jesus such a watch doth keep O’er the lost ones of His fold; Seeking them o’er moor and fen: Christ receiveth sinful men. 4 Come, and He will give you rest, 2 Come, and He will give you rest; Sorrow-stricken, sin-defiled Trust Him, for His word is plain; He can make the sinfullest He will take the sinfulest; God the Father’s blessed child: Christ receiveth sinful men. Trust Him, for His word is plain, [Refrain] Christ receiveth sinful men. Sing it o’er and o’er again: Christ receiveth sinful men; Make the message clear and plain: Christ receiveth sinful men. 4 Despite paternal resistance, James McGranahan (1840-1907) studied music and worked as music teacher, music director, and choir conductor. After the death of Philip Paul Bliss (1838-1876), McGranahan committed himself as a musician to Revivalism, while he worked with the evangelist Daniel Webster Whittle (1840-1901) in England and in the United States. He composed many songs for Sunday schools as well as gospel songs. He published many hymn books, among them the successful series Gospel Hymns. In the 21st Century Hymnal of 2006, six of his songs are contained; three of those lyrics originated from Whittle (Cho 2007, 288; Moon and Na 2012, 431; Oh 2015, 575; Wilhoit 2013, 302–303). 16 S. R. PARK 5 Sick, and sorrowful, and blind, I with all my sins draw nigh, O my Saviour, Thou canst find Help for sinners such as I. Speak that word of love again: Christ receiveth sinful men. 6 Yea, my soul is comforted, For Thy Blood hath washed away All my sins, though crimson-red, And I stand in white array, Purged from every spot and stain: Christ receiveth sinful men.